An Oshadi collection designed for mind, body & soil
Sunshine, earth, heart and soil come together in Ōshadi's latest collection designed with the expertise and experience of the Nishanth Chopra’s indigenous farming practice, the technical know-how of the dyers, weavers, pattern cutters and tailors, and the creative skills of design consultant Inacio Ribeiro. With a laid back South Indian vibe, this first sundrenched crop of timeless, seasonless separates for men and women is grown, spun and stitched in rural India and available - grown to order.
This pioneering seed-to-sew system sets the standard for a new luxury. It goes without saying that the materials and craftsmanship are of the highest quality, but there is quality at every level of the process from the selection of long staple cotton seeds, to the nurturing of indigenous farming practices, the care invested in ensuring that the farmers are protected whatever the yield that season, the attention to detail at every step of the way. This is a new system of growing and crafting clothes designed to ensure carbon is captured in the soil, and that nature is central to the process. Ōshadi’s new crop of clothing is about cultivating a respect for time, skills, people, craft and nature.
The Mind Body and Soil collection is made entirely from regenerative cotton, grown, ginned, spun, woven and sewn in partnership with our community of local farmers, spinners, weavers and a team of highly skilled dressmakers and tailors.
Softly hand-quilted jackets, shirts, trousers and shorts, padded with organic cotton, are a signature, along with bold ikat weaves and ancient block printing techniques. We are experimenting with garment dyeing to reduce the amount of water, energy and dye used for each piece. Offcut fabrics from ikats and block prints are used as appliqué - hand stitched on our carefully crafted, mineral-dyed T-shirts. Wear them wherever you are from Kochi to LA.
Ōshadi translates from Sanskrit as ‘healing plant’. So it makes sense that our colour palette is from native plants reflecting the local luscious flora and fauna: shades of golden saffron, warm madder, vibrant pomegranate, natural indigo, as well as mineral pigments from earthy shades of red clay, raw umber, yellow ochre.
Our lookbook was photographed at the farm where the cotton was grown, on Tamil models Anugraha and Bharat as well as farmer Virakh and logistics manager Kumudha. As you can see, it was a beautiful day.
“Ōshadi could be seen as a label that continuously questions and then problem solves.”
This Is What A Traceable Fashion Brand Actually Looks Like | Atmos
“For brands to source more regeneratively grown materials, more materials have to be grown regeneratively. Nishanth Chopra is doing the work.”
The Vogue Business 100 Innovators: Sustainability thought leaders | Vogue Business
About the Tamil Calendar
We are building this journal around the Tamil Calendar so we will follow the local seasons according to the climate and the cycles of the moon and how they correspond to the activities on the farm. Just like summer, winter, autumn and spring, Tamil Nadu has six seasons based on the Tamil calendar. Each season has two months:
Kaar Kaalam: Rainy season
Aani (June 15 - July 15)This is the month for boll maturation, then bursting.
Time for the cotton harvest
Kulir Kaalam: Cold, windy season
Purattaasi (September 15 - October 14)The sowing of seeds is done in amavaasai (new moon) or valar pirai (first quarter) and it increases the germination rate.
Plant growth, bud formation
Munpani Kaalam: Fog and mist during the night
Kaarthigai (November 15 - December 14)The cotton flowers change from white to pink to dark pink
The month for boll formation
Pinpani Kaalam: Fog and mist during the morning
Thai (January 15 - February 14)Pongal Festival of Harvest thanking the Sun God and Nature for a prosperous crop yield. Time to plough the fields.
The temperature goes up to 40 degrees. This is the month for cotton seed sowing.
Elavenil Kaalam: Spring season, mild hot weather
Panguni (March 15 - April 14)The cotton plants begin to grow and form buds
Cotton in flower
Mudhuvenil Kaalam: Summer season, extremely hot weather
Vaigaasi (May 15 - June 14)The cotton bolls form this month
Cotton bolls mature and burst and it’s time to harvest!